Saving one of their own

The Thursday started out like any other day. Running calls, taking care of patients. Responding to accidents.

It wasn’t until Aug. 29 at 6:29 p.m. that AMR paramedics Joe Cedeno and Ben Osborne received a call that neither one of them will soon forget. The call that one of their own – Farmersville Fire Chief Kim Morris and AMR paramedic – was having a heart attack.

The call

“My first reaction was like any wife, fear of losing him. ‘Help me’ was the only thing I kept repeating to the 911 operator,” Kim’s wife, Sharon Morris said.

As the call came across, Cedeno said, he didn’t recognize the address. He heard Murchison Street but not the number.

“Ben asked me to verify the street address,” he said.

Though the team carries two radios – one from AMR and one from Collin County dispatch – it wasn’t until Cedeno heard the call come over the AMR radio that the number registered with him.

“I thought, ‘Is that Kim’s residence? Nah, it can’t be. Oh no it is.’ That was when it became personal,” Cedeno said.

Though Osborne has been a paramedic for two years and has known Chief Morris for three years since he is a volunteer on the Blue Ridge Volunteer Fire Department, nothing could have prepared him for what would transpire in the next 30 minutes.

“I am a medic first whether it’s my wife or friend, everyone receives the same care,” Osborne said. “It’s number three for him and with everything that has happened in the past few months, it wasn’t surprising.”

Cedeno, who has been Morris’ partner for the past three years and an EMT for 13, said though he had been taught how to deal with a variety of situations, this was the first time he had to deal with the reality of having to treat a friend and his partner.

“I’m glad I was the one to respond. I was able to provide not only medical care, but support to the family, because it was someone they knew caring for their loved one, and that this person meant just as much to me as he did to the family,” he said.

It took the duo approximately two minutes from call time to arrive at the Morrises’ residence.

At the scene

Walking into the house, both Cedeno and Osborne were prepared, at least physically, to deal with the patient.

Emotionally, they weren’t prepared to see a friend lying there unconscious, in the midst of a heart attack.

“Ben was, in my view, the picture of calm and action all rolled into one. He knew this man, and he knew that he had a job to do and that this was bad. We both knew,” Cedeno said.

As Osborne began assessing Morris’ condition, other first responders began to arrive on scene.

“I was talking to Kim’s wife, getting information on how long he had been this way and telling the arriving first responders to get me the cot and make it fast,” Cedeno said.

They then loaded Morris onto the stretcher, placed him in the back of the ambulance, and hooked him up to the ECG while Osborne started an IV.

Along with treating Morris, the team was keeping his wife, Sharon, calm.

“You wear empathy on your shoulder, not sympathy,” Osborne said. “You have to keep calm to keep everyone in balance. Sharon was scared.”

Cedeno made sure the family members were driven to Medical Center of McKinney by members of the fire department.

The ambulance, with the two paramedics, Morris, Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Lisman and Firefighter Shannon Ferris on board, then rolled off the scene and out of Farmersville.

“Our job as EMT and paramedics is to figure out what’s going on and go,” Osborne said. “I tend to try to keep medical calls [at the scene] limited to under twenty minutes and trauma under 10 minutes.”

They were at the Morrises’ residence for eight minutes.

The ride

As they made their way to McKinney, Osborne continued treating Morris and transmitting his medical stats to the hospital, while Cedeno drove.

While Osborne kept giving Morris nitro and morphine as long as his blood pressure was stable, Cedeno drove fast to the hospital.

Though the ambulance was running lights and sirens, Cedano did yell at traffic continuing to get in his way, he said.

“For the most part they made a path for us to proceed without delays. Traffic lights also fell in our favor,” he said.

The Department of Transportation does allow emergency vehicles to exceed the posted speed limits by 10 miles per hour in order to get patients to the hospital with minimal delays.

“I stayed focused on my driving. My only thought was I had to get my partner to the hospital fast and safely. If I got into an accident it would delay his care, and I was not going to let that happen. I trust Ben with my life, and I knew my partner was in good hands. This gave me the focus I needed to pay attention to the drive,” Cedeno said.

Cedeno has also taken defensive driving, emergency vehicle operations training and is certified by the state of Texas as a fire engine operator/engineer along with having many years of experience from driving emergency equipment.

They made it to the McKinney hospital in 20 minutes.

At the hospital

Once at the hospital, the cath lab took over Morris’ care.

He had a 95-percent blockage and a 40-percent block in an existing stint.

At the hospital, Cedeno and Osborne’s supervisor Chad Ross arrived to check on Morris and on his paramedics.

“He came all the way from The Colony,” Osborne said. “He was talking to us, making sure everything was OK. He even drove back to Farmersville later on.”

At the request of Mrs. Morris, Cedeno was taken off ambulance duty and asked to stay with the family, which he did until 1 a.m.

“I’m glad she requested it. I would have gone bonkers if I had to return to my station not knowing what happened to my partner,” Cedeno said. “I was there until they kicked me out of the ICU for being there after visiting hours. I was back the next day when visiting hours resumed. When I knew my partner was better, then I left for home at 12:30 p.m.”

“Joe being with me at the hospital was for several reasons. Because Kim and Joe have been partners at AMR I knew I could depend on Joe telling me the truth even if I did not want to hear it at that time. His emotional and professional support were very important to me and my family,” Sharon said.

The result of it all

Both Cedeno and Osborne had to have their own time after the experience with Morris.

“After it was all over with, I went outside took my moment and composed myself,” Osborne said.

Cedeno had a similar reaction and went outside to let out the emotions he had bottled up about the situation.

“When you are a part of the action, you feel useful. Knowing you are doing the best you can to be a part of Kim’s survival. Now I was a part of the wait and pray. I felt useless. My sense of relief came the next day in ICU. Kim was eating lunch, cracking one-liners and saying that he wanted out of the hospital. My partner was better,” Cedeno said.

“Ultimately, we get back on the truck and do it again,” Osborne said.

The Morrises relationship has been even further strengthened by this situation.

“As a couple we realize that we are rich in God’s love. We experience this abundance thru family, friends and community everyday. These riches can never be measured in the way that the world decides your net worth. Our riches are having God as a basis for our family and our love. Awesome is the word to describe the brotherhood of faith, family, fire dept., police and EMS that have lifted us up thru the last few weeks,” Sharon said.

Chief Morris has returned to duty as fire chief and is expected to make a full recovery.

Courtesy photo

Chief Morris and the fire department stand in front of the Quint fire truck
at Public safety day.

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